FRAMINGHAM (CBS) – A couple from Framingham has been charged with threatening to kill their grandchildren and burn down their daughter’s house.

Yixi Pan and his wife Yimei Chen allegedly threatened their daughter and her family Tuesday night, seeking the $50,000 they say they used to smuggle their daughter into the country from China several years ago.

The daughter contends in a police report that her father hit her and threatened to burn down the house, taking the lives of all the family members.

“Once one of the daughters had the indication the other members of the family weren’t happy about the fact they weren’t being paid back, she thought they were gonna call immigration services,” said defense attorney Michael Brennan.

The defense says that the stories of what exactly happened in the house Tuesday night keep evolving, in part due to a language barrier.

At the hearing, Yimei Chen was released on personal recognizance. Her husband, Yixi Pan, was ordered held on $2,000 cash bail.

Both were ordered to have no contact with their daughter. They have agreed to stay with other relatives in Quincy.